Young Artist Awarded Richard F. Gold Career Grant

Joseph Barron as Grandpa Moss and Mark Diamond as Top in Glimmerglass Opera's 2010 production of The Tender Land. Photo: Claire McAdams/Glimmerglass Opera.

Joseph Barron as Grandpa Moss and Mark Diamond as Top in The Tender Land. Photo: Claire McAdams/ Glimmerglass Opera.

Young Artist Mark Diamond is a 2010 recipient of the prestigious Richard F. Gold Career Grant.

 Diamond performed this summer as Top in The Tender Land and covered the role of Araspe in Tolomeo. Some of his past engagements include Bob in The Old Maid and The Thief at Capitol City Opera and Dr. Gregg in Gallantry and the Count in The Marriage of Figaro at Georgia Southern Opera. He was also a Southeastern Regional Finalist in the 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He is currently continuing his studies for a Master of Music at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music.

The Richard F. Gold Career Grant, which assists young, gifted American singers with their career development, was established by the Will of Richard F. Gold. The Shoshana Foundation annually awards The Richard F. Gold Career Grant to young singers through music schools and opera apprenticeship programs.

For a recent interview with Diamond, read this Glimmerglass Blog post.

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Brittany Lesavoy, August 30th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in 2010 Festival, Young American Artists

Strike Week

Walking around campus the last few days has been like walking out of a time machine, into the fervent buzz of late May. The sound of power tools fills the air, bringing a cacophony of whirs, clangs, thuds and metallic clinks that emanate from the scene shop and backstage. Since the festival season opened last month, the saws, hammers, sanders, routers, drills and welding torches have all been mostly dormant. Instead, the sounds of Puccini, Mozart, Copland and Handel lofted daily from the theater, unable to be contained by its high walls.

After seven weeks of constant harmony as the backdrop to life at Glimmerglass, it is again time for the harsh dissonance of tools to close out the summer, just as it had started. The difference this time is that it is like watching the process in reverse as the sets are carefully dismantled. This Tuesday afternoon, the final performance of Tosca signaled the official start of strike — an endurance test of breaking down, packing up, and shipping out that lasts all but a week. But oh, what a week it is.

Strike varies for each department, but it generally entails at least one or two 12-hour days. For some, this means climbing up and down into the “grid” (a platform 71 feet above the stage floor), breaking down equipment, packing up for shipment, and starting the whole process over. At least, this is a typical day for the Rigging and Electrics crews. Other departments, like our brave Audio/Visual team, opt to tough it out in an all-out, one- to two-day strikefest, often working until the wee hours of the morning.

And then there are the rentals: lighting rentals, truck rentals, trailer rentals, prop rentals, costume rentals. It is the last of these that occupies most of the costume and wardrobe departments’ week.

This season, Glimmerglass recycled [at least 3,560 lbs.] of steel used to build sets.

Steel to be recycled. Glimmerglass sent off about four truckloads.

I’m one of the stragglers. My last day was Saturday, the 28th, and by then the trailers will have left, the power tools will have been shut down, and things packed away in warm storage for the winter.

So, having served their purpose — creating a world, setting the tone of the dream that is the drama happening before it — it is now time to make room for the next productions to come.

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Aaron Gonzales, August 28th 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Backstage

Final Curtain

Final curtain call of the season.

Final curtain call of the season.

The 2010 Festival came to a close August 24 with a final production of Puccini’s Tosca. The four productions met with much acclaim – both from audience members and members of the press.

 

This summer, we sold more tickets than in 2009, with an increase of 21.34%.

 

Here is what some of the media had to say:

“This summer’s season at Glimmerglass was as inventive as usual, four operas across many eras.”
-Robert Levine, Classics Today

“Musically, Glimmerglass’ quality continues to keep it in the front ranks of American opera companies.”
-Joan Vadeboncoeur, Syracuse Post Standard

“There is rarely any question about the quality of singing, which can range from excellent to breathtaking. But when it comes to picking what operas we are going to see and how they will be interpreted, you can be sure that Glimmerglass will never deliver the same old thing. That’s why Glimmerglass draws audiences from the greatest distances. And no other company so stirs up an audience’s artistic juices and so fires debate.”
-James MacKillop, Syracuse New Times

“Ned Canty’s intelligent direction, along with Matthew Pachtman’s attractive early-20th-century costumes and Mr. Harris’s sensitive lighting, combined for a lean yet imaginative production. And the orchestra, conducted by Mr. Angus, did outstanding work.”
-Steve Smith on Tosca, The New York Times

“Like other centers of summertime opera in the United States, Glimmerglass Opera prides itself on nurturing the talents of young singers—so much so that it cast its first-ever production of Copland’s The Tender Land exclusively with members of its Young American Artists Program. The decision paid off handsomely….”
-George Loomis, The Classical Review

“Everything about the production glittered.”
-Geraldine Freedman on The Marriage of Figaro, Schenectady Daily Gazette

“…the company’s opening (and completely sold out) performance provided a colorful, amusing, quite wacky, and beautifully sung spectacle.”
-Jane Dieckmann on Tolomeo, Ithaca Times

“’Toloemo’ is a spectacular operatic achievement in every aspect.”
-John Paul Keeler, Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

Read more 2010 reviews or leave a comment to let us know what you thought.

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Brittany Lesavoy, August 27th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in 2010 Festival

Notes From Francesca

L to R: Playwright Terrance McNally, Deborah Voigt, Francesca, Music Director and Accompanist Kevin Stites

At the MacDowell Colony with (L to R) Playwright Terrence McNally, Deborah Voigt and Music Director and Accompanist Kevin Stites

This photo was taken at the library at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, on July 23. This wonderful artists’ colony has welcomed the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Thornton Wilder. The four of us spent time at the Colony this July to work on ideas for a one-woman show featuring Deborah Voigt, which will premiere at The Glimmerglass Festival next summer.

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Francesca Zambello, August 23rd 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in 2011 Festival, Francesca Zambello

Summer Reading Series: Handel and His Singers

Handel and His Singers, by C. Steven LaRue

Handel and His Singers, by C. Steven LaRue

To commemorate this season’s production of Tolomeo, we suggest you pick up C. Steven LaRue’s Handel and His Singers: The Creation of the Royal Academy Operas, 1720–1728 (Clarendon Press, 1995).

In this book, LaRue takes an in-depth look at the creative processes behind Handel’s operas, focusing on his time at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It is during this eight-year period that he produced many of his most enduring operas, including Floridante, Radamisto, Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano, Rodelinda, and the last opera he would write for the Academy, Tolomeo. The craze across Europe was for Italian opera, and it was Handel’s responsibility not only to compose works that would satisfy the demand for Italian-style opera seria, but also to contract the world-class singers that would perform them. LaRue’s book traces the relationships between composer, singer, and librettist, citing them as the determining factors in the creation of Handel’s most iconic characters.

LaRue’s book is as much about the singers as it is about the roles they played on stage, and anyone interested in performance history will appreciate his survey of their careers at the Royal Academy. LaRue organizes his book primarily around these performers, with chapters on the prima donne such as Margherita Durastanti, who sang in both male and female roles, and another on the rivalry between Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. He also tackles the legendary primo uomini, with a chapter dedicated to the tenor Francesco Borosini and his title role in Tamerlano. Likewise, much of the chapter on the world-renowned castrato, Senesino, deals with Handel’s writing of his role in Tolomeo.

LaRue draws from a wide range of sources as historical evidence that Handel tailored each of his roles for individual performers, and these include original manuscripts, working librettos, correspondences and even contemporary reviews of performances. Even when employing relatively stock characters and themes, Handel still had to accommodate for details ranging from a singer’s vocal range to the kind of characters to which they were accustomed to playing to how a costume element would inform the nature of an aria or ensemble. LaRue reveals this process to be more fluid than one might think, however. He details how Handel’s original vision of a character often changed drastically as a response to an unexpected change of performer, using specific musical examples from the operas’ performance histories. For instance, the title role of Radamisto had been sung — first at its premier and again in two subsequent revivals — by three different performers (interestingly, these included two castrati and one female soprano), and each time Handel tailored the original music to fit the new singer’s voice. In another example, from Tolomeo, LaRue describes the transformation of Elisa’s seductive aria, “Se talor miri un fior,” originally from the rueful music we now know as Seleuce’s, “Fonti amichi, aure leggere.” In explaining these changes, LaRue points out the significance of where, when, and how their arias occur, and illustrates what each of these differences mean for the opera as a whole.

LaRue’s textual and musical analyses of the operas from the vantage point of the singers offer a better understanding of the dramatic tools that Handel had at his disposal. With each singer came a personality and a style all its own, and LaRue’s book shows how all of those factors came together to create the operas by Handel we have come to know and love.

Joelle Harvey as Seleuce in Glimmerglass's "Tolomeo"

Joélle Harvey as Seleuce in Glimmerglass's "Tolomeo"

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Aaron Gonzales, August 22nd 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Food for Thought

Mark Diamond — One of Glimmerglass Opera’s Gems

“Mark Diamond was boisterous and entertaining.”
-Steve Smith, The New York Times
 

Mark Diamond“Baritone Mark Diamond, as the swaggering Top, is a singer with a bright future. Although the character of Top is hardly a sympathetic one, Mr. Diamond’s beautiful voice and striking stage appearance gave the character much redemption.”
-Seth Lachterman, Berkshire Review for the Arts


Mark Diamond is a member of Glimmerglass Opera’s 2010 Young American Artists Program. He performed this summer as Top in Copland’s The Tender Land and can be found attending the opera every night he is not in the show. Though this afternoon was Glimmerglass’s last performance of The Tender Land, Mark Diamond is surely an artist to watch for.

A Conversation with Mark Diamond

Mark Diamond as Top in 'The Tender Land'

Mark Diamond as Top in 'The Tender Land'

Brittaney Brentzel (PR Intern): Mark, tell me a little about your family.

Mark Diamond: I am one of five siblings and we all grew up in the Augusta area or the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area).  My family goes to West Acres Baptist Church in Evans, GA. My mother works as director of Nursing at Alliance Hospice and my Father works at Savannah River Sight(SRS).

BB: When did you first realize you were interested in music?

MD: I first found an interest in music in high school at Greenbrier High at which point I was involved in community theater in Augusta. I then decided to pursue a degree at Georgia Southern University for Music Education. After a few years studying voice there I changed tracks slightly in order to pursue a career in vocal performance.  I did complete my Music Education degree there in May of 2010.

Mark Diamond rehearses at a voice coaching

Mark Diamond rehearses at a coaching

BB: What made you decide to persue the Young American Artists Program at Glimmerglass?

MD: After going to Aspen Music Festival and School last summer I was encouraged to really dive head first into the audition circuit, at which point I auditioned and was offered the role of “Top” in Copland’s The Tender Land.

BB: What is your  favorite food?

MD: My favorite type of food is southern home cooking like fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac ‘n cheese, and casserole.

Mark Diamond as Top in "The Tender Land" opposite Andrew Stenson as Martin

Mark Diamond as Top in "The Tender Land" opposite Andrew Stenson as Martin

BB: If you were stranded on an island and could only have three posessions with you, what would they be?

MD: If I could have only three possessions they would be a Frisbee, a friend and a piano. A Frisbee because I can entertain myself for hours with it and I played ultimate for years now, a friend because I might go crazy if I didn’t have someone to share things with, and a piano because I have always wanted to be better at playing and if I had one I am sure I would.

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Brittaney Brentzel, August 21st 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in 2010 Festival, The Tender Land, Young American Artists

Light of my Life

Glimmerglass Opera has a history of bringing people together. Many couples still together today met while at Glimmerglass. I don’t believe Electrics staffer Hans and Electrics intern Lauren actually met at Glimmerglass, but we are thrilled to have had this wonderful occassion on our stage during a routine lighting focus.

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Brittany Lesavoy, August 21st 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Recent News

A Conversation with 2010 Young American Artist Jamilyn Manning-White

 

Jamilyn Manning-White

Jamilyn Manning-White

Jamilyn Manning-White is a member of Glimmerglass Opera’s 2010 Young American Artists Program, returning from her Glimmerglass debut last year as Clorinda in La Cenerentola. This season, she has performed the role of Mrs. Jenks and covered the role of Laurie in Copland’s The Tender Land, performed with the chorus in Puccini’s Tosca and sang in Steven Blier’s concert, the Killer B’s: American Song from Amy Beech to the Beach Boys.

Jamilyn was raised in Smithfield, Utah. She studied at Utah State University, where she received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. She went on to receive a Master of Music in Opera Theater Performance from Arizona State University. At the Arizona State Lyric Opera in Phoenix, Jamilyn performed the role of Belinda in Dido and Aeneas as well as the role of Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos.

Jamilyn will return to Arizona in the fall to perform the role of Frasquita in the Arizona Opera’s production of Carmen as well as Edith in the production of The Pirates of Penzance. She will also be covering the role of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and Konstanse in the company’s production of The Abduction from the Seraglio.

A Conversation with Jamilyn Manning-White

Jamilyn Sings a Solo in the Killer B's Concert Accompanied by Steven Blier

Jamilyn Sings a Solo in the Killer B's Concert Accompanied by Steven Blier

 

 Brittaney Brentzel (PR Intern): Jamilyn, you’re originally from Utah. Does your family still live there?

Jamilyn: My family is currently spread out throughout the United States. I have a brother studying at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, another brother in graduate school at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, who is also serving in the military and a sister in Provo, Utah. My youngest sister and my parents are in Lima, Peru.  My father, Roger, has worked in the LDS Church Educational System all his professional life, most recently teaching at the LDS Institute of Religion in Logan, Utah.  My parents are currently serving as Mission Presidents for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Lima, Peru South Mission. My mother, Lyn, has worked at home teaching piano lessons while raising her family, and she is currently finishing her bachelor’s at Utah State University to be an elementary teacher. 

BB: Were you active in your community in Utah?

Jamilyn: I have always been very active in any community I have lived in.  I lived in Fruit Heights, Utah, for a few years growing up and participated in several community service projects to beautify neighborhoods. I raised funds for Food Drives and was a member of the National Junior Honor Society.  In Smithfield, Utah, I served on the Smithfield Youth City Council, participated in the Cache Valley Community Theatre, did community service projects and was a Sky View High School Cheerleader.  From 2001-2002, I served as Miss Cache Valley, a part of the Miss America Pageant.  I attended most elementary and middle schools in Cache Valley to promote youth literacy. I was featured on several local radio broadcasts and local television and performed the song “Tell me a Story,” a song composed specifically for this school tour and other youth literacy outreach by Jay Richards, a local composer in Logan, Utah.  In the course of my year reign as Miss Cache Valley, I received the Spirit of the Valley Service Award.

Jamilyn as Laurie in the Cover Run of The Tender Land

Jamilyn as Laurie in the cover run of The Tender Land

BB: When did you first realize you were interested in music and performing arts?

Jamilyn: Growing up in a very musical family, I’ve always been surrounded by music and the performing arts.  I remember listening to Chopin, Debussy, Gershwin, Beethoven, Mozart, Greig, etc. and learned all the piano classics from listening to my mother play at home.  My parents took me to see ballets and musicals in Salt Lake City and at the Cache Valley Civic Ballet and I absorbed every minute of it.  My Grandma Bennion (mother’s side) was a prominent strings teacher in Cache Valley and Northern Utah, and I remember visiting on Sunday evenings and she would play for us.  I remember telling my Grandma, “One day, I will play the violin and I’ll be good at it!”  At an early age, I’ve always been determined to work hard to pursue my dreams.  I later did study violin with her for several years until deciding to pursue singing  full-time.

I grew up dancing at the age of 5 and started taking piano lessons from my mother at the same age.  My Grandma Manning (father’s side) was an opera singer and I’ll never forget when she gave me my first voice lesson at the age of 8.  I still have her hand-written vocal exercises she wrote out for me and I’ll always cherish that small piece of paper!  I continued studying Tap, and Jazz, but Ballet was always my favorite.  I loved how challenging the technique was and when I did it right, it was so satisfying and so beautiful to watch. 

At the age of 12, I started taking voice lessons and violin lessons from my Grandma Bennion.  I think it wasn’t until I was in high school that I realized I wanted to pursue singing.  I received a full-ride scholarship my senior year in high school to study at Utah State University and I’ve been singing ever since.

Jamilyn as Laurie in the Cover Run of The Tender Land

Jamilyn as Laurie in the cover run of The Tender Land

BB: What made you pursue the YAAP at Glimmerglass Opera?

Jamilyn: Back in 2008, I did a lot of research of several Young Artist programs. Glimmerglass was one of the top of my list.  The 2009 season offered several roles that I could sing, so I applied.  I sang for Glimmerglass in Chicago and had a great audition.  When Don Marrazzo, formerly Glimmerglass’s Director of Casting and Artistic Operations, called me in November to offer my singing contract I was actually about to compete in a competition in Palm Springs, California.  It was all I could do to not burst with excitement!      

Jamilyn Performs Alongside Other YAAP Females in the Killer B's Concert

Jamilyn Performs alongside other YAAP females in the Killer B's Concert

BB: As an opera singer you are frequently traveling. What three possessions do you make sure to have with you while on the road?

Jamilyn: I always keep a picture of me and my husband on our wedding day wherever I travel.  I always keep my music on my person with my roll-up piano keyboard that fits in my music bag.   Lastly, I always bring my vitamins, sinus rinse and medicine with me, just in case I start feeling under the weather.

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Brittaney Brentzel, August 17th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in 2010 Festival, The Tender Land, Young American Artists

The Beats of the “Killer B’s”

Cast of "Killer B's"

Cast of "Killer B's"

Today kicked off of Glimmerglass Opera’s Seminar Weekend with a packed house at Steven Blier’s free concert, Killer B’s: American Song from Amy Beach to the Beach Boys. Blier, the artistic director and co-founder of the New York Festival of Song, accompanied six members of Glimmerglass’s Young American Artists Program. These young singers included J’nai Bridges, Jessica Cates, Steven LaBrie, Will Liverman, Rebecca Jo Loeb, Jamilyn Manning-White, Alex Mansoori and Zachary Nelson. From the first ensemble piece, the cast was introduced as a cohesive group, each male and female couple wearing color-coordinated outfits. The outfit choices, quirky choreography and overall demeanor of the singers led to an intimate concert filled with both drama and comedy – mostly comedy.

As we can assume from its name, the clever concert was assembled of only composers whose names begin with the letter ‘B.’ As Blier, who fittingly also has a ‘B’ name, said “We can document history, all within one letter of the alphabet.”  Aside from the cohesion in artists’ names, the concert also segmented itself into cohesive themes which progressed throughout the performance— survival, love, higher education, etc. Quotes from B’s in literature also served as segues between songs.

Blier explained many of the more serious song choices. One song in

J'Nai Bridges and Will Liverman in

J'nai Bridges and Will Liverman

 particular stood out with its landmark messages relating to American history. I Too, Sing American/ Okay, Negroes was sung by J’nai Bridges and Will Liverman. This song was compiled by Leonard Bernstein from two poems, each from a different era, juxtaposing racial views. The piece sang like a debate between two characters in our country’s African American history.

Overall, this imaginatively staged and sequenced concert was a hit with the audience from the opening ensemble to the encore pieces of Wishin’ and Hopin’ and I Feel Good. If you couldn’t make it to the concert, see our website for other opportunities during the next few weeks when our Young American Artists will perform.

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Brittaney Brentzel, August 13th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in 2010 Festival, Young American Artists

Trunk Show to Benefit Glimmerglass

Nina McLemore and Fiona DeJardin

Nina McLemore and Fiona DeJardin

Women’s clothing designer Nina McLemore and jewelry designer Fiona Dejardin (you may remember her from this previous blog post) will showcase their collections at The Otesaga Resort Hotel during our Summer Seminar Weekend for a Benefit Trunk Show.

Twenty percent of the show’s proceeds will go toward Glimmerglass Opera. The benefit will take place at the Council Rock Room in The Otesaga Resort Hotel, Friday, August 13, through Sunday, August 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day. McLemore and Dejardin will be on hand to answer questions.

McLemore’s collection features distinctive, elegant clothing that is meant to be flattering, versatile and comfortable. Styles and fabrics range from casual cottons to elegant evening fabrics.

Dejardin’s jewelry is hand-made with lamp-worked glass beads. Each bead is meticulously crafted at a torch. The beads are then incorporated into unique jewelry designs.

Join us for this weekend for this fashionable fundraiser!

Turquoise Delight

Turquoise Delight

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Brittany Lesavoy, August 12th 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Recent News
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